Out of tune: Vehicle without license plate, unlicensed car up for apprehension

smileredunhappyMANILA, April 2 — A case of government and its agencies singing out of tune.

This as President Benigno S. Aquino III vows to implement the law on the use of license plates, advising car dealers and owners to release and attach the plates to vehicles to avoid being apprehended.

On Wednesday, in Batangas city the President said the government has already been able to remedy the concerns on the license plate backlog (sic).

“Pero ‘yung backlog, ginawang dahilan para hindi kunin ng mga dealers ‘yung plaka sa LTO (Land Transportation Office). Kapag hindi kinuha ‘yung plaka, ‘registered no plate available’ ang ilalagay, exempted sa ating odd-even scheme. So wala nang dahilan na dapat hindi mo ikabit ‘yung plaka mo. Siguro kung lahat may sakripisyo doon sa odd-even scheme, kasama ka rin naman dapat doon sa nagsasakripisyo,” Aquino said.

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The implementation of the government policy on car plates is a way of reminding private car owners to attach their plates on their vehicles, he said. He noted that two weeks ago, vehicle dealers finally got the plates from the LTO, so there is no reason for car owners not to have new plates on their cars. Motorcycle owners are likewise covered by the government’s strict policy on license plates, he said, adding there is also a huge backlog on motorcycle plates.

But Transportation and Communications Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya clarified that it is not a “no plate, no travel” policy but a “no registration, no travel” one. “We are just bringing back the enforcement of the law. No unregistered vehicle should be plying our streets,” Abaya told reporters who accompanied the President during his inspection of NAIA Terminal 1.

Meanwhile, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority chairman Francis Tolentino says his agency does not agree with the Land Transportation Office’s restrictions on new car owners. MMDA asked the LTO to reconsider its strict enforcement of the “no plate, no travel” policy, which started Wednesday. He considered the move possibly unconstitutional considering it deprives an individual of the right to use his own property without due process of law.

Tolentino said they will write LTO to reconsider the implementation of the policy which, he said, is not only untimely but also “un-Christian.” He said the MMDA and the 17 local government units of Metro Manila are not inclined to apprehend violators of the LTO order because it is “ill-timed and restricts the timely observance of the Holy Week. (from wires and PNA report)

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